What ‘reasonable adjustments’ can I make for a disabled employee?

Where an employee is disabled, the employer has a duty to take certain steps to remove any potential barriers faced by that employee due to their disability, so that the employee may carry out their job in the same way as their colleagues who do not have disabilities. Such steps are known as ‘reasonable adjustments’. It is important that employers are aware of this requirement, as failure to make reasonable adjustments constitutes an act of direct discrimination against the employee under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, for which that employee may bring a claim against the employer.

The duty to make reasonable adjustments is a positive duty placed on the employer which can